Third Time's The Charm
by MaeveSolis
Summary: They met up with the Merchant again...and again. Trouble followed. And Ashley was starting to get a little pissed off.


I make no claim of ownership and make no profit from this fan-work

_I make no claim of ownership and make no profit from this fan-work. _

She leaned in closer.

Leon was busying himself with choices on what weapon of mass-destruction he would purchase next. She sighed. He always took forever, or what seemed like forever in deciding. To her, guns were guns. She guessed it was a male thing.

"I see you have an eye for things. Gun's not just about shootin'. It's about reloadin'. You'll know what I'm talkin' about."

Her brow furrowed at his comment and she rolled her eyes. Yup, definitely a male thing. Trying to ignore his laughter as he thanked Leon for the sale, she focused on that torch that always signified the presence of this mysterious seller. Leon glanced over to her as he strapped his new handgun into a holster on his side.

"You alright?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine." Ashley watched the Merchant hook his coat back into place.

"Let's get out of here." Leon walked towards the door. Her gaze was still locked on the Merchant as she took a step back.

"Come back anytime, _Stranger_."

His raspy laughter followed them out into the cavern and Ashley quickened her steps.

This time they were in a rundown old village. What looked like mist has settled throughout the town, making it difficult to see ahead of them for more than ten feet.

Up ahead they saw the familiar blue flame flickering a reflection onto a grime-ridden window. Merchant was in one of the small houses. They ducked inside. Leon held a handful of money towards him.  
"I need some magazines."  
Merchant cackled and held out several boxes of ammunition. Leon was about to announce their departure when noise started from outside.

Loud thumping echoed through the dilapidated room. Oh shit. Not more of those things…oh whatever the fuck they were called. She wanted to sleep. All this running was making her muscles burn with too much use.

She groaned. But a look from the Leon shut her up.

Leon silently made his way to the same window in which they had seen the Merchant's beacon. He then proceeded to push a bookshelf over their former mode of entrance.

"Well, Stranger, I can't leave if you barricade the door." He said with slight tilt of humor in his voice. Ashley glared at him. How could he find this situation funny?

"You're staying. I think I'm gonna need to buy some more ammo off of you in a bit." Leon replied, hoisting the butt of his heavy rifle under his armpit to keep it steady.

"Ashley, you hide in the other room."

She complied, rushing over to an abandoned desk and ducking behind it. The noise was getting louder. _They _were getting closer.

The Merchant also sat crouched by her, no doubt to keep an eye on her.

Her hand brushed against his sleeve. He didn't turn as he continued to watch the threshold of the room they had just left. When he moved away to check out the other window, she let go of a breath she had held.

Maybe this was some kind of sick karmic payback for running off earlier. She didn't believe in that kind of thing but whatever it was, it sucked. Her legs were beginning to cramp and she really wanted to shift to allow even just a little circulation back into her tired limbs. Huffing to herself, she began examining her shirt. The clothes she wore were, at this point, downright unsalvageable. They were even starting to reek. Though that wasn't much of an issue, everything around here smelled.

It seemed like at least ten minutes of waiting. Rounds going off, causing her jump slightly whenever Leon's guns went off.

No longer able to take the pain in her legs, she began to stand. A hand gripped her shoulder roughly, jerking her backwards rather ungracefully. She grunted, adding to her surmounting lady-like behavior so far, as she landed on the floor. _Goddamned Merchant, that huuurt._ She whined inwardly, wincing at the throbbing pain in her backside.

"Got to stay down, or they'll see ya." He murmured, keeping his eyes trained on the door as if expecting it to start shambling towards them.

Ashley glared at him. Not getting a reaction, she switched her glare to his hand; it was still on her shoulder, tense, as if waiting for her to try standing again. She'd rather not end up with more than one bruise on her ass, so she kept still, silently wishing for him to let go of her.

A crash sounded behind them. _Oh no! One's coming in through the window!_

Suddenly as soon as it entered the house, it exploded. Ashley looked over to Leon, who had just run in.

Now, it seemed, that the danger had passed...for now anyway. Ashley stood and so did the man beside her.

The parasite's remains had begun to permeate the air with it's acrid and sickly sweetness. That smell. It was…ugh. Refusing to toss up whatever little she had in her stomach, she pulled her shirt collar over her nose and mouth. At least it helped…somewhat.

Leon seemed accustomed to the stench but the sound of his hacking proved her wrong. With a grimace she turned away. The Merchant didn't appear to be bothered; his hunched form remained calm, just standing there, staring.

"Goodbye Stranger." With a slight inclination of his head, he acknowledged both of them as they left.

"Shit! Ashley, hide!"  
She looked around.  
"There isn't any-," her cry made Leon turn. One of the villagers had cut her off with a grip to the throat. Leon aimed his pistol at the villager's knees. It flailed, writhing as it screamed.

As she was thrown to the side, a sharp pain erupted in her back. It felt…wet. Dammit, she was bleeding. _Ow. _

Leon ran over to her. He gingerly checked where she had been hit. It looked deep. He stood quickly, helping her up.

"Ashley, run that way to the Merchant and get some spray. I'm all out. Go! I'll get rid of these." He ordered, disappearing down the hall. She was about to call after him but remembered where she was. Idiot. What if another group showed up, she'd be done for. She debated following him instead, but he wouldn't like that one bit. So, rubbing the area above where she got cut, she quickly jogged in the direction Leon had pointed. Looking around wildly for _any _sign of that damn blue flame, tears began to prick at her eyes. She was wounded, tired, and now she had to go looking for Mr. Creepy. Every minute that passed she had hoped was only a nightmare and that she would wake up and still be having dinner with her dad at the White House.

A brief flash of blue caught her attention. A room to the side. She ran in.

He was here. And they were in...an office?

The pain was making her dizzy. She collapsed into an armchair, a reasonable distance from both the exit and him.

"Looks like you need to be healed." He stated, nodding at her wound.

"Happen to have anything?"

"For a price." He responded with a rasp.

"Leon has the money."

She was met with silence, it looked like he was considering something. Finally after a moment, he moved closer.

His gloveless fingers pulled down the wrap in front of his face. The first thing her eyes caught were the visible red veins spider-webbed around the corners of his mouth as she watched him smile. It was more like a smirk if anything. His complexion was pallid, she guessed, from always keeping it covered.

"I think we can work out a payment." That distracted her.

"Wha-?"

In the blink of eye, surprising for someone she never saw move that often, she felt his rough hand under her shirt. Her stomach twitched involuntarily as his fingers skittered across her skin as they moved further up.

After the initial shock had worn off, anger and indignation took over.

"What are you doing, you pervert!" She cried, wrenching away and pulling down her shirt for good measure. He chuckled. That bastard was laughing. She really wanted to punch him, but she had a feeling she wouldn't get far with the wound near her scapula hurting like it did. He held up a shiny trinket, the one she had picked up off the ground days ago. Well, she didn't have pockets. So there was only one logical place to store it.

"How did you know I kept it there?" She asked, her cheeks still pink from anger.

He didn't respond. Unclasping the hook to his coat, he pulled open the flap and removed one of the First Aid Sprays. She reached out to take it but he pushed away her hand to the side.

"You're going to need to lift your shirt up."

"What?!" She yelped.

"Do ya want to be healed or do you want the wound to get infected?"

Torn, she shook her head and shifted so he could have access to her back. Ashley felt every touch as his hands pulled up her shirt slowly.

Shaking the canister a couple times, he aimed it at the cut. She flinched as the cold, pressurized substance hit her skin but after a while it began to feel better. The silenced that ensued as he continued to clean her wound was beginning to feel awkward. She spoke up with a question that had been nagging her ever since his appearances became more frequent.

"How are you always nearby? Wherever we go, you're there, with your damn guns and stupid sprays."

"I figure it unlikely that Los Illuminados have a need for healing items and I don't think I'd be in the right set of mind to sell them my artillery." He answered, "You sort are my main income, I'd be a fool to let that source get seriously impaired."

She heard a ripping sound and made to spin around but was stopped with a hand on her shoulder. That same damn hand.

"Bandages. Free of charge." He replied, removing his hand from her and placing the gauze on her skin.

After a moment, he finished and yanked down her shirt. She turned to thank him but was stopped when his lips were all of a sudden on hers. Sitting stock still, she didn't breathe for fear. When he pulled back, she remained frozen, eyes wide and locked onto his.

"What. What was that for?"

"It looked like you needed it." He replied with another one of his chuckles. It looked like…she needed it? What? Did she have a sign somewhere on her that announced her lack of getting any? Running around with Leon, watching him move in that shirt of his made her feel off. Every time she tried to flirt with him, he refused her advances. It pissed her off, to be honest. Despite all this crazy shit that kept happening she was still a woman with needs. Needs that were currently and effectively removing any inhibitions she had had over the past few weeks during her stay in this hell world.

He tilted her chin up to have her look him in the eyes. He seemed to be regarding her. Even his irises were pale, she noted.

_Oh fuck it. _With that inward exclamation, she launched herself at him. Pressing her lips onto his, she threw her arms around his neck. For a moment he had tensed, but it was only a moment, as he was soon kissing her back with equal fervor.

Between breaths, she heard him give a little laugh.

"Quite the firecracker, aren't you?"

"Just shut up and kiss me, you pervert."

As their kissing became even more insistent, her lower back bumped against the desk or table or whatever the hell it was. Suddenly, it became _the_ place. Ashley really didn't mind. After all, she had done it stranger places. It all came with the package of being the President's daughter and having the Secret Service follow her around 24/7. The location didn't matter, just the execution.

But her underwear had already disappeared and _he _was definitely ready to take advantage of that. With only a brief sensation as a warning, he was slipping inside her and she moaned like she never had before.

He started out slow, as if testing the waters so to speak, then gradually but without fail picked up the pace to maddening.

Half of her was dreading Leon's arrival to find them in this position. But the other, more vengeful side of her wanted him to walk in on them. She smiled slightly, whatever the outcome was then, this was now and it felt _good_. Bunching the fabric of his cloak on his shoulders under her tightening grip, small gasps escaped her lips with every thrust of his.

Upon closer inspection, mostly when he had buried his head into her shoulder, he didn't smell that bad. It was like a sort of mild sweat mixed with earth. It could have been worse she mused. He could have smelled like…well, anyways, she was glad it wasn't worse.

She felt something warm and wet at the nape of her neck. Almost giving a yelp of surprise, she slackened somewhat when she realized it was his tongue. And at the moment, it was doing wonderful things right below her ear. Her hands though, didn't want to move from their spot. She didn't care, she only had enough energy to hold on anyway. The only thing that she could manage was arch her back and grind closer to him whenever he pushed back in.

The table/desk they were on didn't seem to be stabilizing as they continued their heated movements upon it. Maybe he noticed as well because in an instant his arms slid under her, mindful of her still healing wound but scraping past it nonetheless, eliciting a small hiss from her. He had picked her up and knelt on the floor, still holding her up. Her legs wrapped themselves around his waist as they resumed.

His pace had slowed, his palms splayed across beneath her shoulder blades. Ugh. She was...she was getting closer. Still gripping him, she leaned in closer to suck weakly on the underside of his jaw. His only response was to shift ever so slightly, but oh, did that shift hit her just right. His pace had sped up. He was getting closer too.

She shivered. A tiny set of convulsions spread through her and let out a panted breath. Almost immediately, as if her climax had harried his own, he came with a hybrid moan/grunt slipping past his pale lips. The heat that radiated between them seemed almost unbearable. Both their bodies, she bet, had developed a thin sheen of sweat. He ducked back down to her mouth and ran his tongue across her mouth. When she had opened her mouth, he merely gave her bottom lip a gentle nip before pulling away and essentially, out of her. For a few brief seconds, they stared into each other's eyes, panting. Then he set her on the floor to get up. She stood and they fell into a sort of calmed silence.

As she slipped her panties back on after finding them behind a chair, of all places, she silently watched the man she had just, well in crude terms, fucked. He had already buttoned up his pants and was in the process of putting on the items-cloak. She hadn't noticed before, but he was actually built on the slight side. It was the weapons closet he wore that gave him the appearance of being larger than he was.

"Ashley!"

Her gaze switched to the door. Leon was back.

"I've...got to go. I'll see you again, I hope."

His now-so-familiar laugh answered her before he spoke.

"Come back anytime, Stranger."

And with that, she flashed him a grin before rushing off to meet up with Leon.

His laugh still echoed in the room as he hoisted his bag onto his back before shuffling off to his next location.

"Anytime."


End file.
